more on blanks
Posted By: Explaining Ebonics on 2009-05-03
In Reply to: Thank you so much 'Explaining Ebonics'! - mm
The specifics of how to mark a blank for QA vary from account to account, service to service, etc.
When I was a QAS, I really didn't want my MTs to put sounds like phrases in, for example:
____(s/l) bazaar or bizarre____
because it would often be something completely different. I prefer to approach the blanks I'm filling in as a QA person with an open mind. I read through the body of the whole report while filling blanks in order to make certain that the word I'm hearing fits the context of the report, but I prefer not to be told in advance what the word is.
Yeah, I like crossword puzzles too.... LOL!
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- Please answer my question: sm - mm
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- The 'unusual' in my post was that I was too polite. - mm
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- NOTE,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nm - mm
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blanks
Can anyone out there clarify how a company penalizes for sending in a report to QA and how do you know if your company does that? Thank you upfront!
blanks
Can anyone advise how long an MT should spend researching an item as opposed to letting a blank? The company I work for is very reasonable about 1 blank per document etc. I was just wondering if there is a general rule.
Thanks for the opportunities this board offers to learn, vent and feel less isolated.
How many blanks in a day?
I am wondering if I am a good MT. I am an IC that worked on the same account for 3-1/2 years and NEVER sent any blanks. The doctors were great! I lost that account and now my company has given me a new account for the past 2 days. I think I have left at least a few blanks in EVERY single report I typed that had to go to editing...is this normal? What are the average number of reports that most good MTs have to send to editing in a day?
Blanks
With a new account, you are getting used to the dictators.
Go back and listen after you have typed the whole report and 9 times out of 10, you will hear what they are saying.
BLANKS
Hello, I am having a very tough time with blanks, especially with doctors who have accents. I try listening really close to how they pronounce the word, but after listening for a good few minutes, I find I still have to leave a blank; this is so fustrating. Are they any tips to cracking blanks?
Blanks
First question I ask -- are you a fairly new MT? second question, do you have access to company IM? I have worked in this busines many years and even those of use with experience have trouble with blanks at times - I did a dictation today and the docs dog was in the background -- one blank and really not bragging here but if I leave 3-4 blanks in a report it is because of horrid sound or terrible docs -- this is really where a lot of newer MTs need to be able to have contact with someone who "has an ear" 
Blanks
First question I ask -- are you a fairly new MT? second question, do you have access to company IM? I have worked in this busines many years and even those of use with experience have trouble with blanks at times - I did a dictation today and the docs dog was in the background -- one blank and really not bragging here but if I leave 3-4 blanks in a report it is because of horrid sound or terrible docs -- this is really where a lot of newer MTs need to be able to have contact with someone who "has an ear"
Blanks
First question I ask -- are you a fairly new MT? second question, do you have access to company IM? I have worked in this busines many years and even those of use with experience have trouble with blanks at times - I did a dictation today and the docs dog was in the background -- one blank and really not bragging here but if I leave 3-4 blanks in a report it is because of horrid sound or terrible docs -- this is really where a lot of newer MTs need to be able to have contact with someone who "has an ear"
BLANKS
Thank you all for the advice. It is much appreciated, and I will try the suggestions.
Realistically, 16 blanks they were able to get and you could not?
x
So you NEVER send anything in with blanks, or
Can you walk on water, too?
Blanks in a report
Are you serious? Are there really MTs that leave 20 or 30 blanks in a report? I feel bad about leaving a blank when the doctor dictates the wrong dosage or I cannot verify the dosage and decide it is better for QA to check it. Sometimes I leave a blank because the background noise is too loud for me to hear what the doctor is saying. The most blanks I have ever left were three during my first weeks as an MT. Now I know why my production has been low (because I researched). I am proud of my accuracy being at 99.97% to 100% and my reliability at 100%! Why is an MT allowed to leave that many blanks?
How can they predict how many blanks?
This annoys the heck out of me about some transcription companies. How in the world can they set a limit of one, two or three blanks per report? That's unrealistic. What do they want us to do, make it up? Well I sometimes wonder if that happens, or some things are just "skipped over". It's tempting, but I haven't gotten to that point yet. I don't care how long someone has transcribed, there are things you just cannot hear, understand, or find. I'm finally working for a company that has no limit to blanks. They have a great editing system. I do a reasonable amount of research on terms I have not heard of. But if I can't hear it....I CAN'T HEAR IT. And don't even get me started on the subject of blanks in ESL dictation. Even the editors can't grasp a lot of it. I used to spend LOTS of itme on blanks, but I've wised up now and let the editors figure it out if I can't get it after a minute or so of research.
There is nothing wrong with a report going to the hospital with a blank. If I were a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional, I would rather deal with a blank than incorrect information. The doctor can fill in blanks when he signs the report.
I leave blanks for even slightly unclear lab values. I see when I review the QA'd report later that they have been filled in by the Editor and it amazes me that they could hear it clearly. Unless they called the nursing station at the hospital and asked them to look it up....which of course does not happen
Maybe I'm too naive about it. I could make a lot more money if I'd just ad lib and send it in. But, I never have been a good liar.
Definitely finish with blanks. nm
-
I think it is normal to have a lot of blanks when ...sm
you are learning an account. You have to learn the things the doctor says and get accustomed to it.
I think leaving blanks when you are new...sm
to an account is normal. You have to get used to the account and the doctors.
Docking for blanks
Encourages guessing....totally wrong. This is a policy adopted by people who have never done the job.
Blanks in tests
Hi!
I am looking for an opinion please. I have been taking my very first at-home test(hoping to come home and leave the politics behind). I was wondering if it would be counted against you if there was a blank in the one of the trascrption samples. My current employer prefers blanks to guesses but then again they are familiar with their employees' strenghts and weaknesses.
Any advice welcome.
We are allowed to send up to 2 blanks SM
per job without having to route it to QA--I can't remember the last time I had to, it might have been about 3 months ago.
Just finished. Took an hour. No blanks. Going to
and drink a beer lol
If it were just editing blanks, that would be one thing. BUT
to provide feedback to keep errors from consistently happening, to type whole reports or even whole paragraphs. It's too much and it does happen.
Wow.. Thanks.. what a relief.. no blanks in that report thanks to you!!
I give a damn but I don't have any blanks or
any "questionable" parts. So I proof as I go. If I didn't hear it right the second time, I rewind right then and there. If I don't get it then, I'll dig in and rewind, rewind, rewind until it pops in my head. But no, I proof as I go. No reason to go through it again for me.
With our QA department, blanks count against us..sm
If we have more than 1 blank per report, other than for dictation that is cut off or something like that, it counts against our percentage, which isn't very high given the difficulty factor associated with a lot of the dictators. Once the percentage reaches a certain point (and again it don't take much to reach that point) we start losing bonuses that we would otherwise be entitled to and even getting deductions from our pay. So, to say the MT doesn't get blamed is not true for everyone. We shouldn't get blamed, but a lot of us do.
Some accts do allow a certain amt of blanks on their files. Over that, and
m
20 or 30 blanks in a report is a NEWBIE.
nm
This whole discussion has turned to blanks, but -
it's about so much more than that. That was only a fer-instance. What my rant is REALLY about is that we are an educated and skilled specialty in the world of white-collar business. I can't understand why our country has allowed a decent-paying job to be trashed by outsourcing.
We lose money, so we end up paying less taxes. The big corporations are given a tax-break by offshoring, so they pay less taxes. The offshore workers pay no taxes. So where is the benefit if I finally give up and go on the dole in order to survive. One more taxpayer bites the dust. If we ALL go, the poor little wealthy darlings of the upper class will start having to pay their fair share and more, if there is no longer a middle class whatsoever.
I go ahead and leave blanks
They can't have it all if they won't let me have it all, IMO. If they want to block the site where I could look up the doctor's names, then they'll get a blank if I can't spell it. Let them waste their own time vs mine until the light dawns on their end, I'm not losing money because they force me to be less efficient.
Medquist docks for blanks, nm
nm
Just about anybody prefers blanks to guesses.
I believe some tests have things they know you probably can't get, just to see if you're willing to put a blank, or if you'll guess.
I have definitely gotten jobs even though I had blank(s) on their test.
Good luck.
Doing your blanks with the speakers helps too (no headphones) - sm
you "hear" differently. I my blanks both ways usually, helps a lot in hearing. Get tons of samples as suggested, they are great help in figuring out what that particular Dr. is saying. You do acquire an ear, takes some time though, good luck sounds like you took the bull by the horns.
We DO listen to the dictation! How else would we fill in blanks?
!
I don't recall saying I 'don't research' blanks.
is exactly what this portion of this thread is about. I never leave a blank until all avenues of finding the answer have been exhausted, which includes leaving a blank and continuing on with the report, as sometimes the answer can be found further down in the same report.
And here's another problem: sometimes the answer to the blank presents itself in the next report, or several reports down the line. By then the 'offending' report with said blank in it has already been sent and cannot be retrieved. If already-type reports could be retrieved and fixed by the original person that typed them a few minutes to an hour later, it would save a tremendous amount of time for all concerned: MTs, QAs, and the doctor waiting for the report that is languishing in a QA backlog.
Dont mean this situation. Mean repeat blanks,
x
Would you work for a co. that docked your paycheck for blanks?
nm
If they dock me for blanks, then they'll start getting
Agree - my reports are full of blanks SM
this morning. I refuse to guess on vital signs, lab values, and this ESL's mumbling. And lucky me, since I'm the first one on this morning, I'll probably get about 10 of his H&Ps.
What makes this especially bad is they monitor blanks now on this new QA point plan in the NE and if
you get no feedback you keep sending in the same blanks so seems pointless to have this QA point plan if there is no feedback and nothing to go on when you get stuck especially in new accounts getting dumped on us all the time. It aint gettin no easier out here in MT land.
I had one yesterday that hiccuped through the entire report. I had about 10 blanks!
nm
You're human. Blanks happen. Should never be penalized for them. nm
s
So how do you handle this. Do you keep sending him his reports filled with blanks??
 You have my sympathies. This is just miserable.  I am THIS CLOSE to telling this group to take a hike but I hate to lose the $$$. I just don't know what I'm going to do! 
My biggest irritant is the MT that leaves 20+ blanks in a report... SM
with the majority of the blanks being unnecessary and due to just plain laziness. They don't want to pick up a reference book or they don't own any reference books and they are too lazy to Google it.
It's almost as if I've transcribed the entire report myself!
If MTs didn't make mistakes or leave blanks,
-
I cannot believe Amherst is still in business with the work they are throwing out filled with blanks
with tons of MTs on all these accounts they cant do well. Dont they have any amount of brains up there. Well what goes around comes around.
I think employees should leave fewer blanks and certainly know all the place names
that an IC would be less interested in. And the employee should be diligent about area physician names that I wouldn't expect an IC to know as much about.
QA works on quota. Frankly, they don't try that hard, either, to fill in the blanks.
x
I think she is talking about full QA review not occasional blanks with a new dictator.
As a newbie I was off full QA at the halfway through day 2 working on acute care. However, I had an excellent trainer/mentor available to answer any questions, and I could send unlimited blanks to QA.
Now when I work on a new account, even with a new platform, I am off full QA within a day. If the platform instructions and account specs are clear, it should really not be a problem.
Only a person who consistently leaves blanks because they are lazy should be docked.
Or maybe they should just be fired. The first place I ever worked docked us for errors that we should not have made. I was only docked a couple of times, and it was only a small amount, but it made me pay attention and be more careful, and I think it made be a better MT.
I tested this morning, left blanks, and I have 17 years' experience. (sm)
I have no problem leaving blanks. It is not my job to suffer over poor dictation. It is my job to transcribe what is hearable. I will not compromise my sanity anymore over these lazy-butt doctors who think their time is so important that they rush through their dictation time. I will do the best I can, but I will not fret over blanks, and neither should anyone else.
What I WILL do is relisten at the end of the report. Sometimes I pick up on their *style* and can fill in some of the blanks. A relisten is all anyone should expect from us. My time is important, too.
Whenever one of my coworkers asks me to listen to a report and fill in the blanks or make SM
corrections, I always put my initials on the report right after hers and I expect anyone who goes into any of my reports to make a correction to do the same and that includes QA people. Where I work, the transcription clerk will put her initials in a report even if she just had to go into the report and delete a blank line to make the report upload correctly. She puts an asterisk by her initials to let us know that she didn't make any changes to the text, just made adjustments for uploading purposes.
I've been told at other jobs by the QA bunch that whatever software we use automatically keeps a virtual record of each person who accesses a report, but I just like knowing who else has messed with my report. I can't tell you how many times when I worked in the office, an irate doctor has come in saying "who's LN" or "who's RB". So if QA went into the report and changed something, I want the doctor to see their initials too.
Yeah, we have no skills or intelligence whatsoever. We just fill in blanks! Geez! A monkey can le
Is that all you do, type? It's not all I do either. I have to know what I'm talking about, apparently you don't because you can just leave blanks!
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